How to Fix 100% Disk Usage by System and Compressed Memory (7 Solutions)

"High Disk Usage by 'System and Compressed Memory' in Windows 11/10"

Hello everyone, I'm encountering an issue where a system process consistently consumes around 1.2 GB of RAM, and occasionally it occupies up to 3 GB out of my total 8 GB. The process is labeled as "System and compressed memory". When I attempt to search for it online, it shows that it's full. How can I address this problem? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated in advance.

The System and Compression Memory is responsible for compressing files and folders, as well as managing the RAM. If you mess with the virtual memory settings, such as changing the page file size from automatic to a specific value, the System and Compression Memory process might start eating up 100% of the affected disk.

Users of Windows 11/10 have long reported that the service takes up a significant amount of memory, disk, and CPU usage when checking the Task Manager. But there's no need to worry about it. If the memory, CPU, and disk usage are genuinely bothering you, you can take the following measures to fix the high disk usage by System and Compressed Memory on Windows 11/10.

• Solution 1: End the “System and Compressed Memory” Task in Task Manager
• Solution 2: Scan for Possible Viruses/Malware
• Solution 3: Restart Your Computer
• Solution 4: Disable System and Compressed Memory
• Solution 5: Stop the Superfetch Service
• Solution 6: Check and Repair Corrupted System Files
• Solution 7: Reset Virtual Memory and Increase RAM

Read more: 100% Disk Usage in Task Manager on Windows 10

Fix 1: End the System and Compress Memory Task in Task Manager

When you encounter high memory compression disk usage, you should first try ending the task in Task Manager. Here are the steps to end a task in Task Manager.

Step 1: Press Ctrl+Alt+Del and select Task Manager.

Step 2: Select the “System” and “Compress Memory” processes that are taking up high CPU or disk usage.

Step 3: Click "End Task" to finish the process.

Fix 2: Scan for possible viruses/malware

Sometimes, viruses and malware can cause high System and Compressed Memory Disk usage. To fix this, you can turn to Windows Defender or a reputable third-party antivirus software. Here's an example using Norton.

Step 1: Download and run the Norton Power Eraser.

If a new version is available, Norton Power Eraser checks for it and downloads it.

Step 2 Click the Scan for Risks icon in the Norton Power Eraser window.

Step 3: Wait patiently for the process to complete.

4. Click “Finish” to remove the risk.

Solution 3: Restart Your Computer to Fix System and High Disk Usage by Memory Compression

Usually, a restart can fix most weird situations, and the high CPU usage by system and compressed memory is no exception. The steps to perform a restart are as follows:

Step 1: Click the "Start" icon.

Step 2: Click on Shut down or log out > Restart.

Solution 4: Disable System and Compressed Memory

If the above methods don't work well for you, try this simple solution to easily fix the issue of high System and Compressed Memory Disk Usage. Here are the detailed steps:

Step 1: Hold down the Windows key and press R to open the Run dialog box. Type taskschd.msc, then press Enter.

Step 2: Double-click Task Scheduler Library > Microsoft > Windows.

Step 3. In the Task Scheduler window, navigate to the following path: Task Scheduler Library > Microsoft > Windows > MemoryDiagnostic.

Step 4. In the right pane, right-click RunFullMemoryDiagnosticEntry, and then select Disable from the context menu.

Solution 5: Stop the Superfetch Service to Fix 100% Disk Usage Issue

Superfetch is a Windows service designed to improve system performance over time. However, it can sometimes cause high CPU usage issues. You can stop this service to resolve the 100% disk usage error in your Windows system and compressed memory.

Step 1: Press Windows + R or type "Run" in the Windows 10 search box. In the "Open" field, type "services.msc," then click the "OK" button.

Step 2: Right-click on “Superfetch” and select “Properties.” In the window that pops up, click “Stop,” and then select “Disabled” from the “Startup Type” drop-down menu.

Fix 6: Check and repair corrupted system files

Usually, when system and compressed memory cause high disk usage, what you need to do is to check your partitions for system errors and fix them as soon as possible.

Here, you can try a free yet professional partition manager tool, which allows you to easily check and fix system errors. You can download the tool Partition Master Free for free, and then follow the steps below to solve system errors:

Step 1: Open Partition Master on your computer. Then, right-click the partition you wish to check and choose “Advanced” > “Check File System.”

Select "Check Partition":

Step 2: In the Check File System window, select the Try to repair errors when found option, and then click Start.

Step 3: The software will now scan the partition file system on the disk. When it's done, click “Finish”.

Fix 7: Reset Virtual Memory and Increase RAM

In most cases, high System and Compressed Memory Disk usage is caused by faulty or failing RAM. You can fix high CPU usage by checking and resetting your RAM.

1. Press Windows key + Break at the same time. Then click on "Advanced system settings" on the left.

Step 2: Click "Advanced," and then click "Settings."

Click “Settings” in the “Advanced” tab:

Step 3: Go back to the Advanced tab and click on “Change” under the Virtual Memory section.

Select the virtual memory partition

Step 4: Make sure the checkbox for “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives” is unchecked.

Step 5: Select your Windows disk (the hard drive or partition where Windows is installed, typically C:) and enter the same size for both the Initial size and Maximum size:

• Initial size: This value varies depending on your computer. If you're not sure what to use, enter a number from the Recommended category.
• Maximum size: Don't set this too high. Aim for about 1.5 times your physical RAM size. For example, a computer with 4 GB (4096 MB) of RAM should have a virtual memory maximum of about 6,144 MB (4096 MB x 1.5).

< strong>Step 6: After entering the virtual memory values, click “Set,” then click “OK.” Clean out your computer's “Temp” files. Hold down the Windows key on your keyboard and press “R.” Type < strong> temp in the Run window that appears, then hit Enter. This will open File Explorer and show you all of the Temp folders on your PC.

Step 7. Select all the files in the “Temp” folder and delete them.

Select and delete temporary files.

Conclusion

Above are the solutions for high System and Compressed Memory Disk Usage. You can choose any of them to fix the issue. Besides checking system file errors, you can also try partition software to manage disk and increase C drive partition, migrate OS to SSD.